The Future of Advanced Air Mobility

In November 2021, eMagic Aircraft unveiled and started flying its eMagic One personal eVTOL aircraft. The one-seater subsequently appeared at the AeroFriedrichshafen air show in Germany in April 2022. The company says it is mainly targeting the North American market and will likely develop a larger two-seat model and/or adapt the design to be used as a drone.

With both vertical-lift and horizontal thrust rotors, the eMagic One is designed to climb into the air vertically and then quickly transition to forward flight. The vertical-lift propulsion system is independent of the horizontal-thrust motor and propeller, with each having its own battery and control systems. Current flight endurance is one hour, but the company aims to increase this to two hours. The all-electric aircraft has two independent sets of four batteries.

Although designed and built in Germany, co-founder and CEO Michael Kügelgen doesn’t see a large market for the eMagic One in his country. “We believe that North America is the biggest market,” he told FutureFlight. “But we didn’t build this to go to a big volume. This is a proof-of-concept prototype to show that it’s capable to have an electric-powered aircraft, this vertical takeoff electrically-driven aircraft. There is a potential for this to be a drone. We will need a bigger machine, two seats because the single seat is a little bit exotic.”

The company says the eMagic One can be disassembled and stored in a truck in about an hour.

Timeline

program launched

The eMagic One personal eVTOL vehicle was first unveiled in November 2021.

Outlook

Our objective assessment of this program’s probable success.

FutureFlight assesses the probability of success for a new aircraft program by considering the following criteria:

  • Total investment funds available in proportion to the anticipated cost of getting an aircraft certified and in service
  • A company’s in-house capability (in terms of numbers of engineers, technical staff, and customer support teams)
  • The past experience of the company and its senior leadership in developing aircraft
  • The caliber and past experience of key program partners
  • Whether key aircraft systems have been selected and are available for use
  • Whether the preliminary design review has been completed
  • Whether the design for the full-scale prototype has been completed
  • Whether the type certification process has been formally initiated with an appropriate regulator
  • Whether the company has achieved a first flight with a full-scale prototype
  • The number of hours logged in a flight test program
  • Whether type certification has been achieved
  • The number of orders and commitment received for the aircraft
  • Whether the company has adequate facilities to begin series production of the aircraft
Our Methodology

The single-seat eMagic One personal eVTOL vehicle is an interesting concept, and the German start-up behind it is now planning a larger, two-seater version and also drone applications. It is unclear whether eMagic Aircraft has sufficient funding to bring the design to market. It may require U.S. partners, given its focus on the North American market. The company says it is backed by "a network of friends and their companies." These include Silence Aircraft, Leviora Leichtbaumanufaktur, Helix Carbon, Droste Ingenieure, Geiger Engineering, and Ingenieurburo Zimmermann.

eMagic One Models

eMagic One Specifications

local vtol Lift + Cruise

Performance

  • Passenger Capacity
    1
  • Range
    n/a
  • Cruise Speed
    90 mph
  • Powerplant Type
    multi rotor
  • Power Source
    electric
  • Endurance
    60 min
  • Max Altitude
    n/a
  • Takeoff Distance
    n/a
  • Landing Distance
    n/a
  • Empty Weight
    562 lb
  • MGTOW
    882 lb
  • Payload Weight
    n/a

Dimensions

  • Length
    23.6 ft
  • Width
    n/a
  • Height
    7 ft
  • Wingspan
    25.2 ft

The eMagic One is a single-seat personal eVTOL vehicle, but a two-seater version is also planned.

Key Personnel

Michael Kügelgen is the co-founder and CEO of eMagic Aircraft.
Michael Kügelgen

Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Founder